Politics

Ex-booster accused of defrauding investors

By JENNIFER LIBERTO, Times Staff Writer
Published November 2, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Florida State University Web site] Don Reinhard sued Times Publishing Co.

TALLAHASSEE - The Office of Financial Regulation has filed an administrative complaint against former Seminole Booster president Don Reinhard accusing him of defrauding investors.

The office also denied Reinhard's application for a mortgage brokers license, according to a letter the office sent Reinhard's attorney on Wednesday.

The office can impose fines and enforce penalties against Reinhard and his companies.

The complaint says that Reinhard invested heavily in "inverse floaters," which were "highly speculative, volatile, and fraught with risk." The complaint says that Reinhard did not explain the risk of these investments to his investors and that it was "destined for failure as soon as there was a rise in the interest rates."

The complaint also accuses Reinhard of "creating and distributing to investors fraudulent account statements that materially overstated investors' account valuations" for three different quarters.

His attorney, William Owen of Tallahassee, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Reinhard has sued the Times Publishing Co. and a senior St. Petersburg Times reporter, Lucy Morgan, accusing them of defamation and casting him in a "false light."

Reinhard's lawsuit, which was filed June 11 in Leon County Circuit Court, disputes information in a May 13 story by Morgan that detailed Reinhard's recent bankruptcy travails.

Reinhard filed for bankruptcy just before an arbitration panel was set to consider the claims of dissatisfied investors.

[Last modified November 1, 2007, 22:25:39]